A person who has successfully completed the Written Component of the Physiotherapy Competency Exam (PCE) and has registered to take the next available Clinical Component of the PCE can apply for a Provisional Practice Certificate of Registration. This allows the person to work as a Physiotherapy Resident. The Physiotherapy Resident is required to find one or more physiotherapists who will act as their Practice Supervisor.

Once the College has approved a Practice Supervisor, the supervisor will receive an email instructing them to log in to the online member portal to complete a Practice Supervision Agreement. The College must receive the agreement before the Physiotherapy Resident can provide patient care.

There are two other situations in which a Practice Supervisor must complete a new Agreement:

When a Physiotherapy Resident has only one Supervisor and wants to change Supervisors, they cannot practice until the College receives this agreement and approves the Practice Supervisor.

When a Physiotherapy Resident has more than one Practice Supervisor and wants to change or add a Supervisor, they can continue to practice while the new Supervisor completes the agreement.

The level of appropriate supervision will depend on the practice circumstances. The Practice Supervisor has a duty to ensure that the Physiotherapy Resident has the knowledge, skills, and judgement to deliver care with the same quality as the Practice Supervisor would.

The Practice Supervisor and Physiotherapy Resident do not have to work at the same employment site as long as they can show there is adequate supervision.

Although the College no longer requires routine reports (the Provisional Practice Monitoring Tool or the Clinical Performance Instrument) from Practice Supervisors, they may still need to give evidence if there are questions or concerns about the supervision.

It is important to keep records. For example, if you have check-in meetings, keep a record of the dates and what you discussed. If you have set learning goals, keep track of how things are progressing. If you conduct chart reviews, record the results.

Practice Supervisors must report to the College if any of these situations occur:

They learn that a patient has been sexually abused by the Physiotherapy Resident.

They believe that the Physiotherapy Resident is incompetent, incapacitated, or unable to deliver safe patient care.

The Physiotherapy Resident is terminated for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence (lack of knowledge, skills, or judgement) or incapacity (health challenges that pose a risk to patient care).

The Physiotherapy Resident is facing termination of employment but resigns before being terminated.

The Physiotherapy Resident is involved in a workplace progressive discipline or remediation process.

A Provisional Practice Certificate is valid for 12 weeks from the date that you take the PCE—Clinical.

You can work as long as your Certificate of Registration is valid. If you forget the date that your Certificate will expire, log in to the College Online Member Portal or check the Public Register. The College will send you a reminder email a couple of weeks before your Certificate expires.

You can keep practicing as a Physiotherapy Resident until your Provisional Practice Certificate expires. This will allow you enough time to transfer your patients to other physiotherapists or prepare them for discharge.

Our processing time for all applications is fifteen business days. This includes a review of the application to ensure you meet all the requirements. This part of the review could take longer if your application is incomplete. Also, if there are concerns about your application, you may be referred to the Registration Committee for another review. This process can take up to 60 days. In fairness to all applicants, there is no fast track or expedited application process.

Email the College at registration@collegept.org to provide the name and certificate of registration number of your proposed Practice Supervisor. The Registration team will review the proposed Practice Supervisor to ensure that they meet the requirements. If the Practice Supervisor is approved, the Supervisor will receive an e-mail instructing them to log into the Online Member Portal to sign a Supervision Agreement.

If your proposed Practice Supervisor is not approved, the College will send you an email asking you to find a new proposed Practice Supervisor.

Remember: You are not permitted to practice until your Practice Supervisor is approved.

No. You must apply for a new Provisional Practice Certificate of Registration, which will need to be considered by the Registration Committee. You will have to show proof that you were not able to take the PCE because:

If the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR) approves your application, you should apply for a second Provisional Practice Certificate. This Certificate’s expiry date will be based on the next PCE—Clinical you are registered for.

Note:If your current Provisional Practice Certificate of Registration expires while CAPR is still reviewing your application, you cannot practice until you have a new Provisional Practice Certificate of Registration.

The cost is the same as the first time. The application fee of $100 is charged when the College receives your application. If you are approved for a second Provisional Practice Certificate, you will be charged $75.

If your Practice Supervisor is unavailable for more than two weeks you will need to stop practicing or arrange to have a different supervisor while they are absent. This information is available in the Provisional Practice Application Package.